All I want is the 42s with 41c clock dynamic functions, USB I/O, > 7K memory, IR printer and a clearer screen.

I too, am a fan of the alpha menu, even though I grew up on the 41C-CV-CX-CL and can program it blindfolded. Annoying at first but once the alpha is in the code it is done. My problem is my 32K 42s is almost full and I will have to input to the DM manually :-(

Well, I can do that while sitting on the flight deck for 15 hours from Vancouver to Sydney.

(Facetious font on) I have said this before, I like cluttered keyboards, three coloured shift keys are fun. It keeps the coworkers from touching my calculator and that combined with no '=' key ensures no other hands touch it. (Facetious font off)

Quote:Hope it's not too late to jump in, but I had a thought about the DM42 that I'd like to share. If I understand correctly from the images/teasers posted earlier in this thread, this device will have an extra 6 buttons dedicated to soft menus. The way I see it, it would be a shame to not utilize them to cram more functionality into this calculator. I propose adding shifted functions to this top row of keys. My idea is to add all the functionality of the HP 17BII to the DM42 in order to give it all the functionality that the Pioneer series has to offer. Dedicate a shifted key to each of the items in the 17BII Main Menu: "FIN", "BUS", "SUM", " TIME", and "SOLVE". Let me go through these.

Is this still a possibility? If not via shifted keys, then perhaps there is a menu somewhere that has an empty slot for the top level here? Or it could be the default "custom" menu?

I recently expanded my collection of HP calculators (more on that later, perhaps) and the 17bii is a neat one, for all the reasons mentioned by MDBarrett88 in the post I quoted from. Somewhat off-topic, I asked it to solve for AA where AA=AA+1. I was worried it would not accept that equation (it does 'test' them somehow) but it was okay with it. The answer, if you are wondering, is -1.05E12 (more digits available if you need them). I suppose that is a number which, from the calculators perspective, doesn't change if you add 1 to it. I felt a little mean doing this, tricky human putting one over on the innocent machine ...

[ Just a tiny-little bit off topic ]I do apologise for being somewhat rude in the forum. It seems some members think I have said bad bad bad things about the HP41. I dared to call it letter-challenged, and even worse... cluttered!

I want to hereby state that:
- First of all, I do recognize the HP41 as the most $ucce$$ful RPN calculator of all times.
- Secondly, I do consider its expandability, and connectivity, as absolutely second to none.

That being said, I am sure you will agree it might not suit everyone's taste. Someone might say it is too thick to be considered a bona fide pocket calculator. Others could find it unnecessarily over-complexed, when compared to other HP calcs.

My brother loves my (well, now his) WP34s, with all that dense power in such a small package. As Geoff has noted, with a very kind note of humour, the 'wow factor' might be a sensible argument for some members too. Needless to say, I definitely respect not only my brother's taste, but also that of those members who prefer to have almost everything at sight/hand/finger.

I finished my previous post with an old Spanish saying, that was important to understand it all depends on your personal preferences. Fortunately, you will always find someone liking a colour close in the rainbow to yours. Mine now goes first with my HP28s, with its disruptive (who said weird;) clamshell and RPL, and then Thomas' Free42 devotedness to the original masterpiece.

In the forum, sometimes I read comments about my beloved HP28s, and ouch! that really hurt me at first. But we all need to understand everyone of us has his own ol'reliable tool, though it might be for sure other members' trash.

"Peace, Love, and RPN" :oD

PS: No matter if DM42 perfectly fits my size, or not, I am sure SM will make another great work, as they always have made. I cross my fingers to finally find a DM42L someday... yes, I would like to be a "landscaper", but there is no need to start discussing about portrait vs. landscape, is there? ;O)

An explanation first. The 41 CL has the 41CX time module functions but no active clock. The functions are useable for alpha display but the time is not callable by a program unless you have the time module with the quartz clock.

The 42S as you know has no clock and no equivalent clock functions. I had to create a 25 line program to alpha display time in output similar to the ATIME function on the 41CX. Also, the time must be manually input via a prompt for some of my programs to function.

The DM 42 is supposed to have the 41CX time module functions and the time is to be callable by the program.

(02-04-2017 06:06 AM)Geoff Quickfall Wrote: An explanation first. The 41 CL has the 41CX time module functions but no active clock. The functions are useable for alpha display but the time is not callable by a program unless you have the time module with the quartz clock.

The 42S as you know has no clock and no equivalent clock functions. I had to create a 25 line program to alpha display time in output similar to the ATIME function on the 41CX. Also, the time must be manually input via a prompt for some of my programs to function.

The DM 42 is supposed to have the 41CX time module functions and the time is to be callable by the program.

Assuming DM-42 has a real-time clock, the TIME and DATE functions should work. The ADATE, ATIME, ATIME24, CLK12, CLK24, DATE+, DDAYS, DMY, DOW, and MDY functions should work regardless, since they don't depend on any underlying hardware or OS functionality.

As HP-41 modules have been mentioned...
What if it was possible to add HP-41's modules to DM42 ?
I think mostly about user code vs mcode, as the ability to run mcode on DM42 seems to me beyond possibilities.
Though, seeing achievements of some members of this forum, I do not know if impossible does still have a meaning.

Thomas in this old thread mentioned he wrote a program to extract the user code from the ROM files and I guess it's rom2raw ?

BTW, I'm going to give a trial run to the Plotter Module and pyILPER virtual plotter with Free42.

(02-04-2017 07:40 PM)jch Wrote: As HP-41 modules have been mentioned...
What if it was possible to add HP-41's modules to DM42 ?
I think mostly about user code vs mcode, as the ability to run mcode on DM42 seems to me beyond possibilities.
Though, seeing achievements of some members of this forum, I do not know if impossible does still have a meaning.

Thomas in this old thread mentioned he wrote a program to extract the user code from the ROM files and I guess it's rom2raw ?

BTW, I'm going to give a trial run to the Plotter Module and pyILPER virtual plotter with Free42.

Jean-Christophe

HP-41 Modules would not work even on a real 42S as the internal OS, CPU, etc. are totally different. Moreover, the DM42 is built on Free42, which simulates the HP-42S, but is implemented totally differently (in C I think).

That said, individual Focal programs from some of the Application ROMs could be readily adapted to work on the DM42, since the HP-42S is fairly compatible with 41C user code. It's unlikely any would run 100% correctly unmodified, but with not too much effort probably could be made to work just fine (only much faster!).

(02-04-2017 07:40 PM)jch Wrote: As HP-41 modules have been mentioned...
What if it was possible to add HP-41's modules to DM42 ?
I think mostly about user code vs mcode, as the ability to run mcode on DM42 seems to me beyond possibilities.
Though, seeing achievements of some members of this forum, I do not know if impossible does still have a meaning.

Thomas in this old thread mentioned he wrote a program to extract the user code from the ROM files and I guess it's rom2raw ?

HP-41 machine code doesn't work in Free42 and never will, but HP-41 user code works fine, unchanged, as long as it sticks to the basic HP-41 instruction set. Some printer functions are also supported, and some functions from the Extended Functions / Memory module; the rom2raw source code contains a list. Other caveats are: no synthetics, and some code may need tweaking because of the longer ALPHA register and greater floating-point precision and range. For the most part, if rom2raw extracts the contents from a ROM file without any warnings, the extracted code will work on an HP-42S or anything reasonably compatible.

EDIT: I just realized that rom2raw doesn't know about the functions I added to Free42 since then (10 years ago), namely, the 12 Time Module functions I mentioned above, and the Android- and iOS-specific ones (ACCEL, LOCAT, HEADING). I don't know if any modules exist that use those functions, or XROMs that clash with the ones I used for the Free42-specific functions, but rom2raw should at least issue warnings when it encounters potential problems... I'll update it when I get the chance and add a message to my web page when it's done.

Interesting that there's that image of an owl on screen when the DM-42 is switched off. Is that an eInk display? As far as I know they're the only displays to have zero power requirement to maintain their status. They only require power to refresh.

Nice looking calculator and display! I see no battery door, so I'm thinking lithium-ion rechargeable battery, although I'd prefer a set of CR2032 batteries. I see two slots on the top edge that may imply an IR serial link and a USB connector. Michael Steinmann usually places a USB connector somewhere on his calculators so the firmware can be upgraded.
Looking forward to the final production units to start to appear. Wonder when Swiss Micros will open up ordering? ~ Jim J. ~

AFAIK, the expected wp43 will share the hardware with the dm42l machine. I'm not following in detail the progress in the development of the dm42 (it, simply, is not a product for me, although I do own other Swissmicros machines I love).

Is there any information about the final price of such hardware platform? I have seen some info on the expected price of the dm42, but I'm hoping for the wp43 to be cheaper.

(03-10-2017 03:25 PM)jjohnson873 Wrote: Nice looking calculator and display! I see no battery door, so I'm thinking lithium-ion rechargeable battery, although I'd prefer a set of CR2032 batteries. I see two slots on the top edge that may imply an IR serial link and a USB connector. Michael Steinmann usually places a USB connector somewhere on his calculators so the firmware can be upgraded.
Looking forward to the final production units to start to appear. Wonder when Swiss Micros will open up ordering? ~ Jim J. ~

Hi Jim

Thinking as with the other Swiss micros, undo the Philips and replace a standard CR2032 (pair?)

Yes IR, real time dynamic function clock and USB for communication to PC for upgrades and porting programs.